HONOLULU – The U.S. Supreme Court today unanimously denied a motion by the Akina plaintiffs to stop a gathering of Native Hawaiians at an ‘aha scheduled for February.

The motion for contempt was filed by the Akina plaintiffs when Na‘i Aupuni terminated the election of delegates and instead offered all candidates terms to participate in an ‘aha to discuss a path to self-governance.

“We are pleased with the court’s decision and grateful that we may continue on our path to the ‘aha.”, said Kuhio Asam, president of Na‘i Aupuni. “We support and look forward to the participants, who are from varied backgrounds and with a wide range of beliefs, coming together to discuss and find common ground on manners in which to advance self-governance.”

The Na‘i Aupuni Board of Directors decided that the ‘aha will convene for four weeks in February and will involve more than 150 participants from Hawaii, the continental U.S. and other countries.

Peter Adler and Linda Colburn of The Mediation Center of the Pacific will serve as facilitators to foster discussions and to assist the participants in organizing themselves. In the first five days of the ʻaha, the participants will be briefed by presenters:

Information on the presenters, as well as readings for participants on the discussion subjects, can be found on the Na‘i Aupuni website: naiaupuni.org.

About Na‘i Aupuni

Na‘i Aupuni is an independent organization made up of a volunteer board of directors from the Hawaiian community. It exists solely to help establish a path to an ‘aha, where Hawaiians can discuss and explore various options of self-determination. Na‘i Aupuni was formed in December 2014 and is separate and independent from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the State of Hawaii. Further information about Na‘i Aupuni and the ‘aha can be found at http://www.naiaupuni.org.